The Dawning of a New World
by garnetfrog
Summary: A soldier based in South Korea is plunged into a series of events that will decide the fate of two worlds.
1. Chapter 1 it begins

The year was 2012; a young soldier is taking a walk through the South Korean country side. He wears only his army fatigues, his boots, a boot knife, and an M9 holstered at his hip. A small pack on his back contained a couple of candy bars and his lunch along with his field journal, a small package, and two extra clips of ammo. His blond hair cut short in a military style. Dust rose from the dry dirt road as he walked along. He was out in a very rural area of the country with farmland all around. A farm house came into view in the distance as he walked. When the soldier was walking in front of the farm house a couple of children ran out. They swarmed around him talking excitedly and reaching for his pack. He chuckled and knelt down taking off his pack. He noticed the mother of the children smiling as she watched them in the door way. He pulled out the candy bars and distributed them to the children who talked excitedly. He couldn't understand Korean but he knew a couple of phrases. The children took the candy bars and ran off into the house in excitement. "Annyeong hashimnikka." He said, waving to the mother. She nodded and stepped back inside after the children. He had said 'Good morning' in Korean to her. He put his pack back on and continued walking down the road.

The soldier continued walking until he came to the base of a small mountain. Trees were thick at the base creating a small forest. The road went through the trees and up the mountain a ways until it reached a small relatively undeveloped village. Some of the houses were brick but the majority of them were wood cabins. The soldier walked to the town hall and opened the door, inside sat three soldiers who were also wearing their fatigues. One of them wore a cap with the captain's symbol on the front. "Private Mark Aarons, reporting for duty sir." The soldier said. The captain turned and smiled. "Hello Mark! What brings you here?" The captain asked. Mark smiled and pulled out a small package. "It came in the mail for you sir, they sent it to the wrong base." The captain nodded and took the package. "Any particular reason you walked instead of taking a jeep?" He asked. The captain undid the strings as they talked. "One of the jeeps was being repaired and the other two were being used. Besides, I need the exercise." He said. The captain rolled his eyes. "If you need the exercise you're not working hard enough, ah! It's finally here!" He revealed what was in the package; it was a book that read, '50 Shades of Grey' on the cover. "I've heard this is a good book but no one will tell me what it's about! So I ordered one." A soldier behind him was trying very hard to suppress laughter while the other one grinned broadly.

The captain set the book on the table. "Thank you Mark, why don't you stay a while? I'll send a message to you base telling them you're here." Mark nodded. "Alright, I could use a change of scenery." The captain nodded. He turned to the other two soldiers. They sat up straight with no expression on their faces. "Hector and Lee here will show you to your tent, we always keep a couple extra just in case." The two saluted and stood. The captain shooed them out of the building and sat down to read the book. Outside the two soldiers closed the door and managed two steps before they burst out laughing. "He's actually going to read it!" One of them exclaimed. The other one doubled over laughing. "Poor old man will have a heart attack!" He said. Mark shook his head and grinned at them. They then noticed his presence. "Oh right! I'm Hector and that's Lee." Said one of the soldiers. He had short brown hair and was slightly taller than Mark. The other soldier was short, had black hair, and looked Asian. Mark nodded and stuck out his hand which they each shook. "Alright we'll take you to your tent now. It's in a clearing near the old well."

The three of them walked down a small path until they reached a clearing. One or two soldiers walked around but no one was wearing anything more than their fatigues. There was, after all, no war going on in the Koreas. Lee and Hector led Mark to a tent near the edge of the clearing and sure enough, there was a well nearby. Mark walked over and leaned to look down into its depths. The well was stone brick with moss and roots coming out in places. He couldn't see the bottom. Lee grabbed his shoulders and pulled him backwards. "Saved your life!" He yelled out. Mark stumbled and fell onto the ground in surprise. The two soldiers laughed at him. Hector walked around and offered him a hand. "Don't worry, it's only a myth that there's no bottom to the well. If you fall in I'm sure you'll hit the bottom… eventually." He said. Lee wiped a tear from his eye and nodded. "We're the camp pranksters, don't tell Captain though! We won't hurt you intentionally. Welcome to the camp." Mark smiled and grasped the soldier's hand.

**Thirty miles off shore**

"Air control this is orange leader checking in, we are thirty miles out from shore coming on the distortion area, altitude forty thousand feet, over." Three jets flew in a triangular formation above the water. Ahead of them was a large area of distortion, like you'd see on the pavement on a hot day. It shimmered a lot but kept its general shape. The three fighter jets maintained their altitude as they zoomed toward it. _"Orange leader this is Control tower Beta, we read you loud and clear. Proceed to seventy thousand feet and tell us what you see, over." _The fighter jets adjusted their altitude until they were at seventy thousand feet. The leader looked down at the distortion that they were now above. It seemed to stretch on for a couple of miles.

"Whoa, this thing is huge! I'm estimating three miles long and two miles wide. It's hard to tell, over." The leader was so intent at looking at the thing that he didn't notice he was headed straight for a pillar of it. _"Hey Isaac! You're headed straight for some of it! Pull up!" _The two fighter jets behind him flew off to the sides to avoid hitting it. "What?" The pilot looked up in time to see the shimmering before he hit it. The jet exploded as though hitting a solid wall. The explosion sent flames and debris in every direction. The two pilots watched the spot in horror until the smoke cleared. A large patch of metal floated in mid air, every once and a while an arc of electricity flew from one section to another. "Holy shit! It's a machine!" One of the pilots yelled into his microphone. A small red light appeared in one area of the distortion. A moment later a red laser at least twenty feet wide sliced through the air and went straight through one of the jets. It exploded in flame and fell spiraling into the ocean. _"What's going on up there! Hello? Orange two? Orange three?" _The third pilot flew quickly to the side and to the edge of the distortion. "Tower! This is Orange three! This thing is a machine! It just shot down Orange t-" A bolt of red light streaked down and blew off one of the wings. The plane tilted to the side of the broken wing then spiraled around in the direction of the still intact wing. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He screamed into the microphone as he spiraled down and landed in the water. The plane exploded on contact with the water.


	2. Chapter 2 contact

The next morning Mark awoke to the sounds of someone yelling for everyone to get up. He shot out of his sleeping bag and began pulling on his shirt and pants. He put on his pack, clipped on his gun, pulled on his boots, and sheathed his boot knife before rushing outside. Everyone was gathering around a radio set up in the center of camp. He walked over and listened intently while other soldiers came over. _"Orange one, two, and three are down, all men stationed within fifty miles of Boryeong or Mokpo please make your way into those cities immediately." _Mark looked to the captain in confusion. "Sir, what's going on?" He asked. The captain shook his head. "Three fighter jets were destroyed around thirty miles out from shore. That's all I know for now. Fortunately we won't have to move." Mark nodded and one of the soldiers fiddled with the radio dial. _"Thi… ed haw… checking in." _The soldier moved the dial until the signal was clear. _"Blue and green are on their way, still no movement of the distortion." _The captain looked at the soldier funny. "How are we picking up air force frequencies?" The soldier, who mark had just identified as Lee, grinned broadly. "I'm using a specially modified radio that allows me to hear everything; I can even get music stations from china!" The captain rolled his eyes and continued listening. _"We are hovering at fifty thousand feet awaiting instructions." "Red Hawk this is Blue Hawk I'm coming in on your position now." "This is control tower Beta; proceed with operation first contact, over." _Mark frowned and leaned closer to the Captain. "What's operation first contact?" He asked. The captain shook his head. "I don't know." He responded. _'Alright, switching on the HFPD now.' _A moment later birds flew from the trees as though startled by something and a stray dog in camp started whining and tried to cover its ears. The dog stopped after about five seconds. The radio had a bite of static in the background now. _"Lowering frequency by 10%." T_he dog flinched again but it didn't seem as bothered as before. Mark frowned when he heard a bit of white noise in his ears. The radio started to produce static as well. "What the fuck are they doing?" Lee asked while rubbing his ear. Like the last time, things got better after five seconds. _"Lowering frequency by 10%." _The radio said again. This time the dog didn't react at all but a high pitch ringing started in his ear.

Mark clutched the side of his head and grunted in pain. The noise went away after a moment. _"We have movement! I repeat we have movement!" _Mark stared at the radio. "What does he mean movement?" Lee shushed him and turned up the volume. _"The ship is de-cloaking; I repeat the ship is de-cloaking. Wow, it's huge! A door appears to be opening." _Mark looked at the radio skeptically. "This is a prank, isn't it?" Lee shook his head and turned the volume up a bit. _"Something's coming down, it looks like some kind of-" _An ear splitting screech filled Mark's ears. He clutched the sides of his head and fell onto his knees in surprise. Around him the others were having similar problems. The radio started sparking and smoking and anything glass shattered. The noise continued to get louder and louder. Mark stood and started stumbling backward toward his tent. The noise continued to grow as he went until he couldn't hear anything except for it. He opened his tent door and grabbed his pillow, then held it around his head. The noise continued through the pillow but it was slightly muffled now. The noise got louder and louder until his ears felt like they were going to explode. He noticed the others had also gone to find something to cover their ears with. He glanced at the stray dog and found it lying on its side, foaming at the mouth. Its eyes had rolled up into its head so all he could see was white in them. He grunted in pain and started walking in the opposite direction of the west coast. Unfortunately he didn't notice he was walking straight toward the old well. He shut his eyes tight and clenched his teeth as he walked. He couldn't hear anything but the noise. He could feel something wet running down the sides of his head and down his neck. He continued forward until his foot hit the edge of the well. He fell forward over the small stone wall and tumbled down into the darkness. He couldn't make any noise from shock. Mark looked up in fear and saw the light at the top of the well getting smaller and smaller. The upside was he couldn't hear the noise anymore. He grabbed at the sides of the well trying to slow his descent but all he got was rocks and roots to come falling down with him. Mark fearfully clawed at the walls but it was no use. He continued to fall and only managed to get his fingertips bloody. It was then that he was able to scream.

The noise finally stopped and the inhabitants of the small camp looked around fearfully. Lee held the side of his head and when he brought his hand up to his face he discovered it was covered in blood. Everything sounded muffled and fuzzy now. The captain gingerly held his radio to an ear and tried to call someone. "Hello? What just happened?" He said. Lee shook his head and looked around the camp. He noticed everyone but Mark was in attendance. "Hello? Answer!" The captain yelled into the radio. It was no use; the thing was busted. Everything still sounded fuzzy to Lee, even his own voice sounded strange. "Where's Mark?" He asked hesitantly. The soldiers looked around and noticed he was missing as well. The captain blinked and walked over to the well. A pillow with bloodstains on it was lying on the ground next to it. "He fell into the well!" He called out. The others stood silently rubbing their ears or holding their heads. The captain walked back over and shook his head. "He'll be fine down there; we need to check on the villagers." Lee looked at him confused. "We need to beckon the what?" the captain shook his head. "No, check on the villagers." Lee looked at him appalled. "Wreck all the villages? Why would we do that?" The captain sighed. "CHECK ON THE VILLAGERS!" He yelled directly into his ear. Lee nodded. "Why didn't you say so!?" Lee rubbed his ear and started walking toward the village. The captain sighed and shook his head.

**Boryeong**

The general weakly stood up from the floor and clutched the table in front of him for support. "Holy hell and a half, what the fuck was that?" He asked. One of his guards looked at him funny. "Holy hell and a half?" He asked. The General rolled his eyes and picked up a phone. "Hello? This is General Terrin, get me the Admiral." A moment later the Admiral came on. "Hello Terrin, what do you want?" The general told the Admiral about the ship and the noise going into specific detail about how the strange sound wave had affected him and his guards. "Get a couple of destroyers out there and blow it out of the sky. Whatever it is, it aint friendly." He said. The admiral thought for a moment. "Well… I suppose I will, but you owe me for this." The General shook his head in confusion. "Wait, why?" The Admiral hung up on him. He set the phone down and turned to his guards. "I need to know what happened to those hawks. Go contact the Air force." One of the guards saluted and ran off out the door. He turned to the other. "You, start gathering the soldiers, we may need to fight on land." The soldier saluted and ran from the room. The General rubbed his ear and sat down tiredly. He was surprised the noise hadn't blown out his ear drums or something. A moment later the second guard came back in. "Uh sir, I asked and they don't have any boulders here." The General looked at him weird. "What?" The soldier shook his head. "No boulders, you told me to go start polishing the boulders because we may need to bite a lamb. Are you sure you're feeling ok?" The General stared at him in surprise. He stood up from the table and walked over to the guard. He then grabbed one of the soldier's ears and yelled. "GET YOUR HEARING CHECKED!" Into it. The soldier jumped in surprise and nodded. "yes sir! Right away sir!


	3. Chapter 3 the fall

Mark screamed as he fell down into the blackness. Air rushed passed his ears as he fell deeper and deeper into the earth. All around him was a suffocating blackness. He reached out to his sides frantically searching for something to hang onto. His hands met nothing but empty air. He tried to lunge to one side but only managed to flip himself so he was facing down. Below him was a small dot of red that very slowly got closer to him as he fell. He was vaguely aware of the temperature increasing as he fell into the abyss. His hand suddenly hit something and he grabbed with all his strength. He jerked to a stop suddenly and a loud pop signified that his shoulder had just been dislocated. A loud snap came next and a shower of pebbles and dirt showered him as he began to fall again.

Mark began to yell in terror and pain again. The air whistling past his ears made his screams sound muffled and distorted. He flipped over again and his leg smashed into something. He tumbled to the side and hit what he assumed was the opposite wall. Dirt fell down with him as he bounced for a third time on his back and started spinning rapidly in his freefall. His leg felt like it had shattered and his back felt little better. He managed to stop spinning and got a clear look down ahead of him. The red glow was now as big as a hubcap and growing bigger. "How long have I been falling?!" He screamed to no one.

He felt uncomfortably warm now and most of his body was numb with pain. The red glow got larger and larger until suddenly it was all around him. Below him was a vast expanse of bubbling, smoking, writhing lava. A pillar of lava shot up from the large mass like a geyser and sent droplets of molten rock in every direction. "OH SHIT!" Mark yelled in terror. He fell closer and closer until suddenly he stopped. He hit some kind of invisible barrier with a thud. Below him it looked like the air was cracking. He didn't move as the cracks spread further and further out until they stopped about ten feet away from him. He groaned in pain and shifted his leg. It felt like he had been thrown into a brick wall and then put through a wringer. His entire body felt like it was one giant bruise. He lay there for a while, sweat pouring from his pores from the heat. Finally he painfully began to army crawl away from the center of the cracks. Mark inched his way across the strange invisible barrier until he was nearly at the edge. A crackling noise nearly gave him a heart attack. Below him more cracks were spreading.

Mark stopped and stared below him in terror. He then slowly reached over and set his hand down on the un-cracked area. He pulled himself over a little and yelped in terror as the invisible barrier shattered beneath him. He lunged forward and caught the edge of the newly formed hole. He looked down nervously at the lava and saw the now visible pieces of barrier hit the surface. The lava splashed and fire came up from the disturbed areas. Mark pulled himself up out of the hole and on to the un-broken area. He lay on his back panting with relief. He laughed a little and turned over onto his stomach. His entire body ached but he managed to push himself up into a crawling position. The heat was really starting to bother him now but he ignored it. Mark looked around to see if there was any way he could climb up but he couldn't see anywhere where the ceiling met the floor. He crawled in a straight line away from the hole in the barrier all the while searching for a way up. After about an hour he heard a crack. He looked down and found himself in the area he had started. Wherever he was it was spherical and floating. He almost cried with horror. "There's no way out!" He yelled in despair. He looked up but couldn't even see the light of the entrance to the well.

He looked to the side hopelessly as a tear ran down his cheek. Or perhaps it was sweat, with all the heat he couldn't tell. He stiffened as he heard a snap below him. He looked down in time to see more cracks spread from around him before he fell through the barrier toward the pit of lava. He didn't have time to do anything but stare in shock at the lava below him as he fell down toward it. He closed his eyes and waited for impact but it never came. He kept his eyes closed in anticipation but suddenly all he felt was extremely cold. He opened his eyes and found himself staring down at a large, dark forest. He stared down in amazement then realized it was getting bigger. He was falling again, this time toward a very dark, uninviting swamp like forest. He couldn't speak from terror as he fell. He suddenly smacked into something and started spinning out of control. He caught a glimpse of a rainbow blur before he was down among the trees. He hit a branch snapping it and sending him rolling to the side into another branch. He fell straight down onto a very large mushroom and rolled off the edge toward the forest floor. He hit three more branches before land on his stomach in a pile of moss. He couldn't move from shock and he couldn't feel anything at all. Mark rolled onto his back and stared up into a bleak, dark sky. "C-can I be done falling now?" He asked hoarsely. He squinted at the sky and saw something small falling toward him. He raised his head a little to try and see it better. The object got closer and bigger until he realized it was his pack. "Oh come on…" He said miserably. The pack fell directly onto his head, knocking him out.

**Over the everfree forest**

Rainbow dash flew along lazily on her way back from clearing clouds. She was exhausted and was really looking forward to sleeping when she heard a faint whistling noise like something falling. "Hmm?" She looked around suspiciously then looked straight up. She caught a glimpse of a large object before it smashed into her sending her spiraling out of the sky. She spun around in the air in shock for a moment before regaining her flight. She shook her head in a daze and saw the object just before it fell into the trees. Her back was really sore from the impact now and she really didn't want to go into the forest alone so she flew back to ponyville quickly. She burst through the library doors and skidded to a halt inside. "TWILIGHT!" She yelled.

Twilight jumped in surprise and books she had been levitating to the shelves fell to the floor. "Rainbow? What's wrong?" She asked. Rainbow Dash flew over to her and grabbed her by the arms. "Something just fell out of the sky into the everfree forest! It hit me on the way down!" Twilight looked at her in surprise. "Was it a meteorite? That would be incredible!" Rainbow shook her head and dropped Twilight. "No! It was alive! It said 'Oof!' When it hit me!" She said. Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure YOU didn't say oof when it hit you?" She asked. "Yes! I mean no? I don't know! We have to find out what it is anyway!" Rainbow yelled. Twilight nodded, "Alright, just let me gather a few things. Go find the others and meet me at the entrance to the forest." Twilight said. Rianbow nodded happily and flew out of the room.

Twilight sighed and began levitating the books back onto the shelves. She then got a saddle bag and began filling it with quills, paper, books, and other such things. "What's going on Twilight?" Spike asked. He was looking down at her from the balcony. "Oh, something fell into the everfree forest and Rainbow Dash wants to see what it is. I'll be back in a while." She said. Spike nodded and went back to doing whatever it was he was doing up there. Probably taking a nap. Twilight put on the saddle bags and walked out the front door toward the Everfree forest.


	4. Chapter 4 rise and shine

Mark groggily opened his eyes as he lay painfully on his back. His vision was blurry and everything seemed to double itself and sway around. He closed his eyes and opened them again trying to clear his vision. After a moment he was able to clearly see his surroundings. He had landed on a large pile of moss in the center of a small clearing. It was extremely dark even though he remembered falling in day time. On his left were his pack and a lot of tall, menacing trees. To his right were more trees but with a path leading away from the clearing. Mark tried to sit upright but pain shot through his body sending sparks of light dancing in his eyes. He collapsed on the ground in agony and lay still. He moved his left arm toward his bag and pulled it over to him slowly. He checked inside to make sure everything was still intact before setting it down again. He cautiously rolled over onto his side, then on to his stomach. Once facing the ground he put his arms underneath himself and pushed up slowly with his arms and legs. Once he was in a crawling position he stopped.

Mark pulled the Pack onto his back and attempted to push himself up onto his feet. He failed miserably and fell forward back onto his hands and knees. "T-that's not g-going to work…" His voice was hoarse and he stuttered uncontrollably. So instead of standing he began to crawl across the forest floor toward the path that he had seen on the right. "It c-can't be night y-yet… when d-did I get kn-knocked out?" He wondered. He looked down at his wrist watch but the glowing green numbers simply blinked 1200 over and over again. "Is that even p-possible?" He asked out loud. His voice was beginning to sound normal and he was almost in control of the stutter. He checked to make sure his pistol was still on his hip before he continued into the forest. Once inside he found a couple of sturdy sticks and some vines to make a splint for his leg, which he was sure was broken, and found a large stick to use as a crutch. He tied the crude brace tightly, grunting from the dull pain he got in response. Once that was done he grabbed hold of a low branch and hoisted himself up to a standing position. With the crutch he was able to walk slowly, but it was still faster than crawling.

Mark shivered as he looked around the dark forest. Small wisps of dark grey fog came out from the dead trees and once he thought he saw a pair of red eyes staring at him. The further he went the more uncomfortable he became. The forest seemed to be pressing in on him, getting closer and closer, threatening to engulf him. He wiped a bit of sweat from his brow and continued on nervously. After a single, nerve wrecking hour he came upon a small river. The flowing water churned slowly creating small whirlpools and small waves. It didn't look shallow enough to wade across and he wasn't sure how well he'd do swimming. He sat down under a tree painfully and set his pack to his side. The clouds were so thick above him that hardly any sunlight was able to come through. What little sunlight that did make it through was swallowed by the dark atmosphere of the forest creating an eerie black glow. Mark coughed causing his chest to hurt and his throat to tingle. "I'm thirsty…" He said. He rummaged through his pack but remembered he hadn't brought and water bottles with him. He slowly looked up at the river and shuddered. _'I hope that's clean…' _

Mark out his pack back on and pulled himself up the tree. His entire body hurt but he was able to stand with the help of his makeshift crutch. He hobbled over to the river and knelt down on the bank. He gazed into the water then leaned over to put his hands in it. He pulled some water out in his cupped hands and took a sip of it. It tasted alright but he couldn't be sure the water was clean. He was very thirsty though so he drank some more. He pulled out another hand full and took a sip. Just then in the center of the river he could see a large purple serpent like creature swimming along. It had yellow hair and a mustache and it hummed as it swam past him. He watched it in surprise as it swam passed him and then around a bend in the river. He stared at the bend for a while then spit out the water in his mouth in fear it was poisonous. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood again using the crutch to push himself up.

Mark decided to try and cross the river. It wasn't going very quickly and it wasn't very wide. He took a step into the cool water and began walking toward the other bank. About a fourth of the way there he couldn't touch the bottom anymore so he began awkwardly swimming to the other side. The cool water felt good on his sore muscles so when he was able to touch the bottom again he stopped and stood still. He was pretty sure his pack was water proof and he knew his pistol would fire when wet so he didn't worry about how long he was in the river. After a while Mark pulled himself out of the river and onto the opposite bank. When he was on dry land once more he could hear voices coming toward him. He looked back down at the bank and saw boot prints in the mud by the river. Quickly he took a branch and rubbed the foot prints until nothing but smudges remained. He then tossed the stick into the forest and hid behind a tree.

**Twilight and the others**

The six ponies made their way through the ever free forest at a brisk pace, not wanting to stay inside longer than necessary. Twilight led the way, her horn lighting the path with Applejack behind her. Behind Applejack were Rainbow Dash, then Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy taking up the rear. Something rustled in the bushes nearby and Fluttershy squeaked in fear. "M-maybe we should go. W-we can come back s-some other time…" Suggested Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and flew back next to Fluttershy. "Oh come on Fluttershy! You've been in the forest tons of times! Why are you afraid still?" Fluttershy flinched and looked to the side nervously. "Lay off her Rainbow, she's got every right to fear this place." Applejack said. "I don't blame her at all; the scenery is so tasteless its terrifying!" Rarity said. Twilight looked back and raised an eyebrow at her. "What?" She asked confused. Twilight rolled her eyes and looked back ahead. "We're almost at the river, if what Rainbow Dash said is true then the object probably fell into the clearing near the rope bridge."

The others nodded and they continued on silently. After a moment Pinkie suddenly yelled, "Hey! I can hear the river!" Her voice echoed off the trees and into the darkness. Pinkie flinched when the other five glared at her. "What?" She asked. They continued walking toward the river. Twilight stopped when they arrived at the river. Twilight gazed across the river to the opposite bank and saw very strange foot prints in the mud. "What's wrong Twi?" Applejack asked in concern. Twilight pointed across the river at the foot prints. "There, in the mud, there are foot prints." She responded. The six of them gazed across the river for a while. Then suddenly Fluttershy squeaked in fear. "Did you hear that?!" She asked. The others looked at her in fear. "What?" Pinkie whispered. "It sounded like somepony said, 'What was in that water?'" She said. They looked around fearfully. "Maybe we should go…" Rarity suggested. Suddenly there was rustling in the bushes on their left followed by a thud. They backed away fearfully toward the other edge of the path. "Let's get out of here!" Yelled Twilight. All six of them bolted back in the direction they had come as quickly as they could.

**Mark**

Mark slumped against the tree in relief when the six, very colorful, ponies ran away. He had thrown a rock into the bushes opposite the path from him so that their attention would be on that. His heart had nearly stopped when he realized he had said 'Oh god, what was in that water.' Out loud. He figured he'd stop hallucinating in a couple of hours; then he'd go the way the apparitions had gone and see if that was a way out of the forest. He chuckled in amusement at his own foolishness for drinking questionable water. He was just glad it didn't give him cholera or something. He leaned his crude crutch against the tree and pulled out his pistol. He checked that it was loaded and set it in his lap. He then laid his head against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes to rest. It had been a very stressful day.


	5. Chapter 5 escape from everfree forest

Mark opened his eyes and yelped in pain. Searing pain was shooting up through his leg. He looked down and almost cried out in terror when he found the roots of a tree wrapping around his leg. "What the hell!" He pulled his knife out from his boot and started furiously cutting the roots. The roots fell away from his leg as he cut through them. A dark green liquid oozed from the severed roots. More roots were moving along the ground toward him so he stood up and limped away from the tree. More roots slithered quickly from out of the trees and wrapped around him. He furiously hacked at the roots with his dagger. He noticed he was still holding his G-18 as he cut through another root trying to wrap around his leg. Mark aimed the pistol at a root slithering toward him and fired off a shot. The bullet tore through the wood and sent splinters and the green slime in every direction. The gunshot echoed off the trees, the fog distorting the sound until it sounded more like a bone cracking than a gunshot. He limped backward cutting roots that were coming off trees to try and grab his chest. He noticed movement in the corner of his vision and turned his G-18 toward it. He tore a root off from around his neck and opened fire into the trees where he had seen movement. The bullets splintered bark and sent chunks of wood flying off into the trees. He spun to his right when he saw movement and fired off three shots. The green sludge spattered from some invisible foe and the roots trying to engulf him shuddered. He unloaded the rest of the clip into that area while backing away.

He kept pulling the trigger four times after the clip was expended. He stood still watching for movement but saw none. Upon examining his surroundings he noticed that the roots lay limp on ground. Some hung from branches on trees but all of them led to the area he had been firing at. Mark cautiously limped over and looked around for the creature he had killed. Seeing nothing on the ground he looked up and saw a tree full of bullet holes and oozing the green slime that had come from the roots. He holstered his G-18 and backed away toward the path. He froze in terror when he heard a far off roar. He could hear snapping like branches breaking coming from his left and above him the trees rustled. "Not good..." Mark limped as fast as he could down the path, knife still in hand. Behind him some kind of wolf burst through bushes and snarled at him. "Oh shit!" He tried to limp faster but his leg wouldn't let him. Behind him two more burst from the undergrowth and skidded to a halt while the first ran after him. He grit his teeth and began running normally. His leg felt like someone were driving a large rusty nail into every part of his leg whenever he took a step but he ran on.

Ahead of him he could see a faint light that, as he got closer, became brighter and brighter. Behind him there were now five of the strange wolves chasing him. He sprinted as fast as he could but the wolves still gained on him. The light became an opening in the trees and he almost cried out in joy. Merely four feet from freedom of the forest one of the wolves burst out in front of him. Without a single thought he vaulted over it. Time seemed to slow as he jumped. His feet left the ground and he leaned forward. He looked into the creatures eyes as he sailed over it, he was surprised to find that it was made of wood. The wolf tried to bite him but he pushed off of it with his left hand and spun to the right and away from it. He did a somersault on the other side of the wolf and awkwardly got up straight. He stumbled forward and landed on his side facing the entrance to the forest. To his relief the wolves simply stood at the edge of the forest and seemed to glare at him. He laughed giddily from relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His leg then exploded in pain causing his laughter to turn into a blood curdling scream of pain. He blacked out from pain.

**Fluttershy's hut**

****Fluttershy sat down on her couch in relief after being out in the Everfree forest. Angel hopped up next to her and nudged her with his head. "Oh, I'm ok Angel." She smiled sweetly down at him then frowned when she found him glaring at her with his arms crossed. "What's wrong?" She asked. Angel pointed at his mouth then started tapping his foot. Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, you're hungry. I'll get you something to eat. Just wait right here." She walked over to the fridge and opened it. Right as she opened it a loud bang She squeaked in fear and bolted up to hide on top of the fridge. The birds in her house rustled in surprise as well. She lay huddled on top of the fridge shivering in fear while cautiously looking around. Three more loud bangs came in rapid succession a moment later. She squeaked again and flew up the stairs to her room as quickly as she could. Once in her room she buried herself in the sheets on her bed. Anyone looking at her bed would have seen a large, shivering lump.

She nearly fainted when there were fourteen more bangs. Fluttershy waited a moment then slowly stuck her head out from under the sheets. She flinched when she heard the Timberwolves howling but didn't hide under the sheets again. She slowly got out of the bed and made her way down stairs. She nearly fainted when somepony knocked on her door. Fluttershy slowly opened the door and found Twilight standing on her door step. "Did you hear those noises?" Twilight asked worriedly. Fluttershy nodded slowly and looked around outside. Twilight nodded nervously. "It came from the everfree forest. I think we should tell the Princesses about this." Fluttershy nodded and began to close the door. Before she could close it a bloodcurdling scream erupted from somewhere nearby. Fluttershy fell over onto the floor with her legs sticking up in the air. Twilight flinched and looked around. "Somepony's in trouble! Come on, we have to help!" She ran off in the direction of the scream. Fluttershy got up and ran after her. "Oh goodness... Oh my..." She mumbled as she ran after Twilight.


	6. Chapter 6 realization

Fluttershy ran after Twilight worriedly. Twilight turned around a small patch of trees and disappeared from view. Fluttershy ran around the trees and smacked into Twilight. Fluttershy bounced off of her and landed on her back with a thud. Fluttershy stood up and looked at Twilight. "Why'd you stop Twilight?" She asked. Twilight ignored her and walked over to a lump on the ground. Fluttershy squinted at it then cautiously walked over next to twilight. She looked down at it and gasped in surprise. "What is it!?" She exclaimed. Twilight shook her head. "I don't know, there's nothing like this in any of my books." She responded. Fluttershy examined the creature in fascination. It was big and only had hair on its head. It's eyes were shut and blood was trickling out of its mouth. It appeared to be wearing some strange clothing and wearing a saddlebag. Strapped to its leg was a knife with notches in the blade. It was covered in some kind of green liquid and a lot of what she could see of his skin was bruised. "Oh my! It needs medical attention!" She said. Twilight nodded. "We'll take it back to your hut, we can treat it there... it can't be that different from any other animal, can it?" She wondered.

Twilight carefully levitated the thing off the ground and began the walk back to Fluttershy's hut. Fluttershy followed worriedly examining the creature as they walked. They brought it inside and set it down on Fluttershy's couch. Fluttershy then began removing the creature's clothes. "What are you doing?" Asked Twilight confused. "I can't examine him with all this stuff on." She responded as she set the bag next to the couch. She then removed his shirt and shoes. She took off his pants and noticed another article of clothing near his midsection. "I wonder why it's wearing something under its clothes..." She said. She pulled it down then squeaked in surprise before putting it back in place. "What?! What is it?" Twilight asked in concern. Fluttershy was blushing fiercely. "I think it's male..." She said. Twilight blinked in surprise. "Oh..." They both looked at him in embarrassment. "O-oh well, I can examine him with it on..." Twilight nodded in relief. "Good!" Fluttershy began poking at different spots on his body looking for broken bones or anything out of the ordinary. She opened his mouth to see where the bleeding was coming from and found he had bitten his tongue.

After an hour of examining she stepped back and sighed. Twilight looked up from a book she had been reading and looked at her questioningly. "He's broken a lot of bones, nearly all of his ribs are broken, one of his legs is completely broken, he's covered in bruises, he's bitten his tongue pretty badly, and one of his... upper leg hooves is covered in splinters of wood." She said. Twilight looked at the creature amazed. "All that?! No wonder it screamed in pain." Fluttersny nodded and went to a closet to pull out medical supplies. "Can you use magic to put his leg bone back in place?" She asked as she brought over the supplies. She nodded and did as she was told. The two pieces of bone went back into place with a click. Twilight cringed at the sound. Fluttershy then put two sticks on either side of the leg and wrapped it tightly with cloth bandages. She then took out some tweezers and began pulling the splinters out of his hand. Once all the splinters were disposed of she poured disinfectant on it. The hand convulsed and started twitching a little causing both the ponies to jump in fright.

Fluttershy proceeded to bandage up the creature as best as she could. After Twilight set its ribs back in place she lay him out straight on the couch with his leg elevated and put two blankets on him. Twilight noticed a metal necklace on the shirt that Fluttershy had removed from him. She picked it up and read what was imprinted on it. "Aarons, Mark, 234-71-0802, O neg, No Preference?" Fluttershy looked at it curiously. Twilight shook her head and set the metal necklace back on the shirt. "Well, I should head home now. Tell me if he wakes up." Twilight said. Fluttershy nodded and watched Twilight leave. She then went about making all of her animals dinner and settling them down for the night.

**Mark**

****Mark would not remember anything later but he dreamed while unconscious. He dreamed of a ruined city, of streaks of green light coming from every direction. He dreamed he was leading men into battle shouting orders and firing pot shots at windows from behind barricades. He dreamed of large ships in space firing lasers that he had to swerve around to avoid, of something wrong with his ship. He dreamed many terrible things and felt all the pains of war, but he would not remember any of it.

Mark painfully opened his eyes slightly. His vision was blurry so he blinked a couple of times. Soon he was able to open his eyes all the way. He was looking up at a wooden ceiling. He groaned and tried to sit up but sharp pain in his chest told him not to. He turned his head to the side and found himself looking at all sorts of little animals. Birds and rabbits mostly, but a few mouse holes were in the walls. He lifted a hand to his head and found it covered in bandages. He pulled back some blankets that had been put on him and felt around. His chest was bandaged but other than that and his underwear he was naked. He felt sore all over and his head hurt really badly. "Hello?!" He croaked. His mouth was dry and it hurt his tongue to move it. "Hello!" He called louder. He heard a thud from above him and then footsteps slowly made their way down some stairs. "Where am I?" He asked. His head hurt so bad he was beginning to feel dizzy.

"Y-y-you're in m-my house..." He heard a very soft female voice respond. She sounded scared so he softened his voice a little. "Who are you?" He asked. The girl came a little closer but stayed out of his line of sight. "My n-name's Fluttersh-shy..." She said. Mark frowned. _'What? Is that a stripper name or something?' _He let go of it and continued asking questions. "Am I... Am I still in South Korea?" He asked. Fluttershy hesitated before responding. "I don't know what South Korea is... You're in Equestria." Mark clutched his head. "Ugh... do you have Ibuprofen or Aspirin?" Another moment of hesitation. "I don't know what those are either... I'm sorry..." She sounded terrified. "Pain killers, do you have any? My head feels like its going to explode." Fluttershy gasped. "Explode?! Oh my!" Mark shook his head. "Not literally... oh god, my head."

He heard her walk off somewhere and rummage through some cabinets. He tried to turn and look at her but the pain stopped him. A moment later he heard her walking back to him. "This should helf the fain." She said. It sounded like she had something in her mouth. It was then that she finally came into view. She was a yellow Pegasus with pink hair. He had a tray in her mouth with a couple of herbs on it. Mark stared at her in surprise. "Um... Sorry, but I seem to be hallucinating, you look like a yellow Pegasus." He said. She frowned and set the tray on the floor. "Well... I am... a... Pegasus..." She said nervously. His mouth twitched a little. As he continued to stare at her. "So... You're not human?" He asked. His tongue was beginning to feel numb. She shook her head. "What's a human?" She asked. Mark turned his head to look up at the ceiling. "Wow... just... wow..."


	7. Chapter 7 questions

Mark stared at the ceiling for a bit then held out his hand. "I'll take those… herbs…" He said. Fluttershy nodded and picked up the tray so he could reach it. He then took the small plants and sniffed them. He couldn't tell what they were. "Do I just eat them or what?" He asked. Fluttershy brought the tray into a different room as he spoke. "Yes… I'm sorry, I don't have anything else." Mark sighed and began chewing on the bitter herbs. The horrible taste almost made him forget about his headache. He managed to choke down the herbs without vomiting or spitting them out. "Wh-what's your name?" Fluttershy asked him. Mark shifted a bit on the couch and pulled the sheet back on him. "Marcus, my friends call me mark." Fluttershy came back into view. He smiled at her and she cringed. Mark sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. "So… Marcus, you're a… human?" Fluttershy asked.

Mark nodded and smiled a bit. "Yes, I'm human. Please, call me Mark." Suddenly his stomach growled. He chuckled and looked around to see if he could find his pack. "Your name's Fluttershy right? What did you do with my pack?" Fluttershy went to the foot of the couch and pulled out his pack. She set it on the floor next to him. Mark groaned and pulled himself to a sitting position with some pain in his chest. Fluttershy gasped in horror. "No! You shouldn't be sitting up! You're still very injured!" Mark grinned and waved her off. "I'm a US Marine, my drill sergeants did worse than this." Flutterhsy looked at him doubtfully as he opened his pack and brought out his MRE. He tore it opened and examined the contents with approval. "Beef stew, mashed potatoes, bread, peanut butter, cookies, skittles, Gatorade…" He named the items as he pulled them out of the bag. Fluttershy watched curiously as he pulled each item out and set it to the side.

Once everything was out of the bag he opened the beef stew and sniffed it. "Wh-what's all that?" Fluttershy asked. Mark grinned and put the spoon from the MRE into the stew. "What time is it?" He asked. Fluttershy looked at a clock on the wall. "Around four in the afternoon." She replied. Mark nodded. "Well then this is early dinner." He took a spoonful of soup and poured it into his mouth. He grimaced and looked around in the MRE bag for some kind of heater. "I… need to go somewhere, please stay on the couch, don't walk around…" Fluttershy said while backing toward the door. Mark waved and pulled a small fireless heater out of the bag. He turned it on and set the stew on it. Fluttershy left the house and closed the door softly.

**Twilight's house**

Twilight was organizing the book shelves when there was a light, but frantic knocking noise at her door. Twilight rushed over and pulled open the door to find a very nervous Fluttershy on her doorstep. "What's wrong Fluttershy? Did he wake up?" Fluttershy nodded. "He woke up… he can speak! His name is Marcus, but I'm supposed to call him Mark, and he says he's a human…" Fluttershy said. Twilight nodded and turned to yell at Spike. "SPIKE! WATCH THE LIBRARY WHILE I'M GONE!" She then stepped outside and closed the door behind her. "Come on, I want to meet him." She said. Fluttershy nodded and followed her through the town toward her hut.

Fluttershy opened the door of her house once they arrived and Twilight stepped in. Mark was finishing off a cookie when they came in. He looked at Twilight for a moment expressionlessly then burst out laughing. "I should have expected there to be unicorns if there were Pegasi here, but purple?! That's just ridiculous!" Twilight stared at him with wide eyes in surprise while Fluttershy flinched and tiptoed off into the kitchen. Mark wiped a tear from his eye and held his chest in pain. "Hurts to laugh…" He said. Twilight shook her head and went to stand in front of him. "Hello, my name Is Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy says your name is Marcus?" She asked. Mark nodded and tried to suppress more laughter. "Twilight? Heh, there's a horrible book series with the same name back where I come from. I'm sorry, I'm just tired, sore, and a little confused right now. I'm not usually so…" He paused to take a bite of the cookie in his hand. "Blunt?" Twilight suggested. Mark nodded. "Yeah, blunt." Twilight sat down and studied him for a while before speaking. "Where are you from?" She asked. "The United States of America, if you have a globe I can show you where that is, I was in South Korea, but I don't think I'm there anymore…"

Twilight shook her head. "I've never heard of either of those places. You're currently in Equestria." She responded. Mark nodded. "Fluttershy said that too, I don't know where Equestria is." Twilight thought for a moment. "What planet are you from?" She asked. Mark raised an eyebrow. "Earth, why, are we on mars or something?" Twilight frowned and thought for a while. "Well, you're still on Earth, or at least that's what we call our planet as well." Mark nodded and finished off the cookie. "How did you get here?" She asked. Mark sighed and lay back down on the couch painfully. "I fell down a well." He said. Twilight shook her head in confusion. "I'm sorry? A well?" He nodded. "I fell down a well. It was really deep too, went all the way down to the earth's core. Some kind of invisible barrier stopped me from hitting the molten lava but then it broke and I thought I was going to die for sure."

"Then suddenly I was really cold and falling out of the sky! Part way down I smacked into… a rainbow I think… are the rainbows here solids or made from refracting light? Anyway, I then hit the forest floor and my bag fell on my head knocking me out. When I woke up I began walking in hopes of getting out of the forest. Then a tree attacked me and some wolves made of wood tried to eat me. And here I am." He told her. Twilight nodded in fascination. A moment later he realized something. "Am I dead?!" He asked. Twilight looked at him startled. "No! You're alive; at least I think you're alive." She said.

Mark closed his eyes and laid his head back against the arm of the couch. Twilight walked over and poked his arm with her hoof. He opened an eye and looked down at her. "Yes?" He asked. Twilight shook her head. "Just seeing if you're alive, you feel alive to me." He smiled a little then closed his eye. Twilight quietly walked to the kitchen to find Fluttershy. She found her feeding her animals. "He's nice… I wonder how he got here though. I've never seen or read about humans…" She paused to think while Fluttershy put away various objects. "Maybe we should tell the Princesses about him. They might know about humans." Fluttershy nodded and peeked at Mark from where she stood.

"Also, I think he's what hit Rainbowdash this morning. He said he hit a Rainbow before falling into the EverFreeForest, so…" She trailed off. Fluttershy smiled nervously at her. "Well, I'm going back to right a letter to the Princess, meanwhile just make sure he doesn't move." Fluttershy nodded and watched as she walked out the back door. Fluttershy slowly walked back to the living room and found all of Mark's trash in a neat pile inside of the bag he had torn open. On top of it was half of a chocolate chip cookie. He saw her and smiled. "I'd take care of the trash myself, but I'm not allowed to move." Fluttershy nodded and looked at the cookie. "Aren't you going to eat that?" She asked. He shook his head. "Nah, I'm not going to eat it. You can have it if you want." He said. Fluttershy looked at the ground in embarrassment and took the cookie and trash in her front legs. She then flew into the kitchen. Mark watched her leave then closed his eyes. _'What a strange day…'_ He thought.


	8. Chapter 8 meeting the others

Twilight rushed home to write a letter to the Princess, or rather, have Spike write it while she paced up and down the floor. She threw open the door and rushed inside. "Spike! Quickly! I need to write to the princess!" Spike jumped and dropped a book at her sudden arrival. He quickly got a sheet of paper and a feather pen and waited for her to speak. "Dear Princess Celestia," Spike wrote as she spoke. "I am writing to you about a matter of utmost importance. A strange creature fell from the sky and landed in the everfree forest. It was pretty badly injured but Fluttershy is currently taking care of him. Another strange thing, it can speak our language! It says it is a species called human and says his name is Marcus. I would very much appreciate if you and your sister would come here to Ponyville to examine him. Signed, Twilight Sparkle." Spike dotted the paper. "And done! Alright, I'll send it to her right away!" He tied a ribbon around the note and breathed fire on it.

Twilight stared at Spike until he became uncomfortable. "Um, why are you staring at me?" He asked. "I'm waiting for a reply;" She said simply, "The Princess will probably want to respond to such a fascinating discovery immediately." Spike rolled his eyes and began to walk away. Suddenly he belched out a scroll along with some green fire. Spike grabbed the note and read it out loud. "Dear my most faithful student Twilight, this is indeed a matter of importance. There was once a time when humans, very rarely, would visit this world. However, a thousand years ago humans stopped coming to our world. There is not enough room to explain everything in one letter; I will explain the rest to you and your friends when my sister and I come to see Marcus." Twilight nodded in satisfaction. "See? I told you!" She said. Spike sighed and walked off to reshelf the books he had taken down. Meanwhile Twilight went to gather her friends.

**Fluttershy's hut**

"Oh… please don't get up! You'll hurt yourself… oh dear…" Fluttershy said nervously as Mark tried to pull himself up off the couch. "I want to walk, just get me a crutch and I'll be fine!" He said annoyed. He was beginning to get tired of how nervous Fluttershy was all the time. He clutched the arm of the couch and pushed himself up into a standing position. He gritted his teeth in pain but cried out in triumph when he was finally standing. "Ha! I told you I'd be fine! There's nothing that a little running… or limping… can't cure! Or so said my drill sergeant." He said. He used the wall to support himself as he made his way toward the door. "No, no, no, no, no!" Fluttershy said. She flew past him and put herself in between him and the door. He sighed in exasperation. "Fluttershy, move." He said. She flinched and shook her head no.

Mark glared at her angrily. "I said move." He said. She straightened up and shook her head no with authority. Mark looked around until he found his pack and then looked for something to use as a walking stick. His eyes finally fell on a long straight stick leaning in the corner of the room. He swung his pack onto his pack and limped over to the stick. Fluttershy watched him nervously as he picked it up and advanced toward her. "P-please don't…" She pleaded terrified. She squeaked in surprise when he gently picked her up and set her down behind him. "I'm going for a walk." He said and opened the door. On his way out he remembered he was wearing nothing but his underwear and walked back inside. "Oh good! You decided not to go! Come on, lay down now or you'll hurt yourself." Fluttershy said soothingly. Mark shook his head and pulled his shirt and dog tags over his head. He then pulled on his pants and put his boots back on. He tried to put his left boot on carefully but it still hurt his leg.

He then clipped on his belt and smiled at Fluttershy. "If I lay down any longer I'll go insane. I'm going for some fresh air and that's that." Fluttershy gaped at him and moved her mouth as if trying to say something but nothing came out. Mark closed the door behind him and slumped over using the stick to support himself. "Ah, god it hurts…" He said quietly. He sighed and began walking around the area. Halfway through his third circuit around the property he stopped to check his pistol. It was empty of bullets but other than that it was ok. He took out the empty clip and pulled a fresh one out of his pack. He then pushed the clip into place with a slight click. He put the empty clip back into his pack and holstered his G-18. As he walked he slowly began to feel less and less tired and the pain in his chest was beginning to go away.

On his 50th to 55th, he wasn't counting, lap around the property he noticed Twilight Sparkle coming up the path toward the hut. Behind her was another unicorn, another Pegasus and two normal horses, well ponies really, they were all so small. He stopped walking and watched them walk up to Fluttershy's hut and knock on the door. The Pegasus was a light blue with a rainbow mane; the unicorn was white and had very curly purple hair. The first pony was wearing a cowboy hat and was orange with a yellow mane. Last was a pink pony with a pink mane. He frowned and squinted at their flanks, each one had some kind of mark on their rear legs. Fluttershy opened the door and almost burst into tears when she saw her friends. He could hear her explaining how he had gone outside for a walk and hadn't returned yet. He grinned at how worried she was about him. He limped over toward the group.

The blue Pegasus was the first to see him approaching. It blinked in surprise then nudged Twilight. She turned and looked at where the Pegasus was pointing. She smiled at Mark and waved catching the attention of the others. Mark nodded and stopped in front of the group. He leaned on the stick and examined them all. "Everypony, this is Marcus." Twilight said. He frowned. "EveryPONY? Do you mean everyone? Or everybody?" He shook his head. "Umm… anyway, this is Rarity," She pointed at the white unicorn, "She owns a boutique in town." He nodded at her. "Sup?" He asked. "It's a pleasure to meet you darling." Rarity responded hesitantly. Twilight then stood next to the orange one that was wearing a hat. "This is Applejack; she works at an apple orchard." He frowned. "You know how to farm?!" He asked incredulously. Applejack frowned back at him. "Well sure we do! How else would we get food to eat?" She had a distinctly southern accent. Next Twilight stopped next to the pink pony. "This is Pinkie Pie, she works at the bakery." Mark sighed. "And now they know how to cook…" He mumbled. "I'm really excited to meet you! You're the first human I've ever seen! Are there more of you? Do you all have strange manes? Why are you leaning on a stick?" She talked really quickly in a high voice that was slightly annoying. Last Twilight stopped in front of the blue Pegasus. "And this is Rainbowdash, she works at… she works as… she works… I don't really know what her job is… Other than keeping the sky clear." She said. Rainbowdash nodded. "Yup, I keep the skies clear all the time, except when it's scheduled to rain. I'm also the BEST flyer in all Equestria!" She gloated. She sounded like a tomboy. Mark nodded. "I couldn't be any less fascinated." He said. "Thanks!" She said and smiled. He grinned and shook his head in amusement.

"Ok, now that introductions are done, does anyone know how I can get home? Anyone?" He asked. They all shook their heads. "Of course not." He said in exasperation. "Are you ok Marcus? You were a lot nicer earlier." Twilight asked. He sighed, "I'm really sore and I want to go back to South Korea, where I was before." Twilight nodded. "Well, none of us know how to get you back to where you're from, but I think I know somepony who might." She said. Mark laughed in relief. "Good! Let's go see this pony." Twilight grinned. "She'll be here soon. Until then why don't you come with us to Ponyville? We can introduce you to everypony in town!" She suggested. He shrugged. "Alright, why not... it'll be nice to have a change of scenery." He looked back at Fluttershy who looked like she was about to cry. He smiled sympathetically and hobbled over to her. He knelt down on his good leg so he could look her in the eye without looking down. "Hey, thanks for helping me get better." She smiled nervously and looked at the ground. "I-I'm going… to stay here… Twilight…" She said. Twilight nodded. Mark smiled and patted her head before standing up to follow the five ponies to town. _'It's not so bad here…' _he thought.


	9. Chapter 9 uncomfortable encounters

Mark followed the group of five ponies toward town while limping on the large stick. "You'll love it in ponyville, everpony is nice and friendly!" Twilight said as they walked along. Mark nodded not really paying attention while he thought about how to get home. "First we'll stop at the library so I can check on Spike. Then I think we should introduce you to mayor mare first." Mark frowned as they walked. After a while they came upon a large tree near the edge of town. Upon closer examination he saw that it was actually a house inside of a tree. "Ah'm sorry Twi, I got to go home. See you tomorrow though. Nice meeting you Mark!" The orange pony named Applejack said. The white unicorn, Rarity, frowned at Twilight. "I really must be off as well." Rainbowdash and Pinkie pie told Twilight they had to leave as well and left. Twilight frowned and shook her head. "Oh well… Let's go inside." She said and opened the door. As soon as the door was open a blast of confetti shot out showering Twilight and Mark in sparkly colors. Mark jumped back in surprise. Pinkie burst out of the door with a party hat on. "Well it's about time you two got here! Come in, quick!" She yelled. She grabbed Mark by his shirt and yanked him through the door. He stumbled into the library and shook his head in surprise, the place was covered in party streamers and balloons and confetti. Pinkie slapped a party hat onto his head and stepped back smiling broadly.

"Pinkie! I told you not to throw parties in my library!" Twilight yelled. Mark shook his head in wonder. "Didn't you just leave like two seconds ago? How did you manage to get inside here and set up a party?!" Mark asked her. Pinkie giggled and rolled her eyes. "I came in through the back window, duh! The party would have been much bigger if I had more time, but SOMEPONY just HAD to come in so quickly!" She looked at Twilight. Twilight raised an eyebrow while watching Pinkie. "Pinkie, would you mind cleaning up the place? We can have the party some other time, AND NOT IN MY HOUSE." She said. Pinkie frowned sadly. "Alright… I'll clean it up, but tomorrow you're having a huge party and the entire town will be there!" She exclaimed joyfully. Mark slapped his forehead and Twilight shook her head. Twilight walked past Mark and Pinkie toward the back of the library. "SPIKE!? SPIIIIIIIIKE!" She yelled. A small purple lizard appeared. "I'm up here Twilight, what's wrong?" It asked. Mark's mouth fell open as he stared at it. "Spike, meet Mark." She said and gestured toward mark. Spike looked over at him and jumped. "Whoa! What is that?!" He exclaimed. "What am I?! What are you?! Lizards aren't supposed to talk!" Mark exclaimed in shock.

After a bit of staring at each other; Twilight spoke. "Um… Spike's a dragon, Mark. Spike, Mark is human; their species isn't found in Equestria." Mark continued staring at the ridiculously purple dragon. Twilight shifted from side to side nervously then grabbed mark's sleeve with magic. "Come on, let's go now. Look after the library while I'm gone Spike." Mark stepped sideways toward the door as the magic pulled at his sleeve. Once outside Twilight firmly closed the door and glared at him. "Well that was rude." She said. Mark shook his head. "How did you react to seeing me for the first time?" He asked. Twilight's eyes opened in surprise and she looked down at the ground. "I stared at you for a while…" She said. Mark nodded in satisfaction. "Well then. Let's move on." Twilight nodded and led him through the town. Everyone he passed stared at him in terror, surprise, or interest. At last Twilight stopped at a large building near where Mark believed was the center of town. She opened the door with magic and stepped inside. Mark was barely through the door when he heard "HUMAN!" Shouted loudly. He jumped in surprise and slammed the door shut. Right after the door latched something slammed into it causing the door to bulge in slightly and splinter. He waited a moment then slowly opened the door. Lying on the step in front of the door was a mint green unicorn. A considerable lump was forming on her head and she was out cold. "Whoops…" He muttered. He gently shut the door and turned to find Twilight walking toward him with a sour expression. "Ah! I can explain!" He said in surprise. She raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" She asked. He glanced at the door with wide eyes and turned his attention back to her. "Nothing, what's wrong?" He asked. Twilight sighed in exasperation. "Mayor Mare isn't 'accepting visitors' at the moment." She glared at the floor bitterly.

"Alright then, take me to the next place. Oh! Is there a back door?" He asked. Twilight looked at him funny. "Uh, yeah, why?" Mark nodded in relief. "Let's go out that door, I like back doors, back doors are much better than front doors." He glanced at the door again nervously. Twilight looked at him like he was insane and shook her head. "Alright, back door it is." She led him to the back door and they exited the building. It was beginning to get dark now and none of the ponies were in sight. "Whoa. There were like twenty horses-" Twilight interrupted him, "Ponies." Mark glanced at her. "-ponies out here a minute ago. Where'd they all go?" Twilight shrugged and led him toward a large building that looked like a gingerbread house. "This is where Pinkie works, Sugar Cube corner." She said. Mark frowned at it. "It's not actually made out of gingerbread, is it? That doesn't seem very structurally sound…" Twilight laughed. "Of course not, it's just decorated like a gingerbread house. She stopped in front of the front door and put a hoof on the handle. Mark could hear a very faint hissing noise and a click when Twilight turned the knob. He grabbed her with his good hand and spun to the side of the doorway. Twilight yelped in surprise. He had just barely pulled her out of the way when a huge burst of confetti flew from the door with a loud bang. He dropped her and peaked around the corner into the building fearfully.

"SURPRISE!" Pinkie yelled. Mark stared at her for a while then looked back down the road in the direction of Twilight's library. "How…?" He shook his head. Twilight glared around the corner at Pinkie. "Pinkie! You're going to hurt someone with that party canon if you're not careful!" Mark noticed pretty much every single one of the ponies he had seen outside were inside watching him curiously. "I just couldn't wait for tomorrow to come so I threw the party now! I got everypony in town just like I said I would! Isn't this great Mark?! Now instead of walking around everywhere meeting everypony you can meet them all here! I couldn't find Lyra though, anypony seen her?" Pinkie looked around the crowd of ponies. None of them seemed to know where this 'Lyra' Pony was. Twilight walked inside and gestured for Mark to follow. He stepped inside and heard, _"Human…" _Hissed from near by followed by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. Mark quickly stepped inside and slammed the door shut while leaning his weight against it. Not even a second later a mint green unicorn flew through the door, then through mike, and skidded to a halt near him. He stared at her in shock then held his stomach. "Oh god, that didn't feel right!" Pinkie appeared next to Mike. "Oh there you are Lyra! I was afraid you wouldn't get to meet my new friend Mike!" Lyra grinned at him like a maniac until he felt uncomfortable. Pinkie grabbed Mark and drug him around the room introducing him to the various inhabitants of ponyville. "-and Derpy, and Bon-Bon, and Daisy, and Ms. Cheerilee, and Dr. Whooves, and-" She continued naming each one individually as he stumbled behind her awkwardly on his crutch. He was just beginning to wonder how many ponies could fit in the building comfortably when Pinkie finished. "and Filthy rich!" In front of him was a pony dressed in the top half of a tuxedo. They watched each other a while then Filthy Rich raised an eyebrow. "I don't think I like you." He told Mark. Mark raised his eyebrow. "I KNOW I don't like you." He retorted.

Pinkie burst in between them. "PARTY TIME!" She pointed at a very large DJ set and nothing happened. Pinkie looked around confused. "Where'd she go?" She asked looking around. A white unicorn with electric blue hair burst through the crowd and went up behind the DJ system. "I told you I'd be late Pinkie!" The unicorn yelled down at her. She didn't wait for a response before turning on very loud music. His ear drums, still sensitive from being nearly blown out in South Korea, Throbbed with pain on every note. He put his bandaged hand to his ear and cringed. Twilight noticed him and came closer worried. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" She shouted at him. Mark limped to the farthest corner away from the DJ set and sat down. He un-wrapped the bandages around his hand and instead tied them around his head so that they covered his ears. It didn't help much but there was less pain so he considered it a success. Twilight followed him and looked at him worriedly. "I'll tell you later." He said in her ear. She nodded and walked off into the crowd.


End file.
